Tale of the Feree
by ihadanepiphany
Summary: In the book The Courtship of Princess Leia, prince Isoldor tells Tereniel about the now-extinct people of the planet Feree. I re-read that recently and a plot bunny formed...
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars I am not George Lucas! 

Author: ihadanepiphany!

This is just a little fic that was spawned recently due to a re-reading of The Courtship of Princess Leia (I don't own that either!) and when I got to the part where Isolder tells Teneniel about what happened to Feree a little plot bunny appeared and wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote something about it. So here it is

Enjoy!

Its written in the form of flash-backs; the first two chapters are written as what Noctun is remembering whilst suffering from the plague and it is in no sequential order past the first flashback.

The first flashback is the present time and the rest are jumbled memories, to put it a different way, ok?

Pay attention!

A tall graceful figure stumbled to a holo-vid recorder and transmitter, keyed in an address, glancing around in weariness in the fire-lit darkness to the battered doors, gaping windows. The recorder signalled its readiness. The figure drew itself up to its full and slender height and spoke in a melodious, pain-racked voice.

 'For the attention of the Republican Senate, from Noctun'orias of the House Orias of the Feree.' The figure paused, breath rattling harshly in his throat. He talked for a time, his soft voice echoing through empty, deserted rooms, telling the story of his planets swift self-destruction. He finished and replayed the message, watched himself shaking with the exertion of standing. He sent the message to a sentry ship miles overhead, stood at a once-beautiful glass window and watched the night sky, imagining that he could see the ships that stood guard on his homeworld, staring skywards, refusing to look down. He finally turned away and entered a smaller room, closed the double doors behind him and lay down on a bed, surrendering at last. 

(A/N: Now its just one flashback after another)

Sunlight. Sweet smell of Hanatha roots. Bright chiming laughter. 

He was in his home, on the outer reaches of the city, and it was summer. He kept his eyes closed, lying in the blissful state between sleep and wakefulness, savouring the heat of the bed. High-pitched squeals signified that his children were up and trying to kill each other, low grunts meant they had the Gar'shi, the family pet with them. Tinkling bells sounded from the door and he cracked open an eye. It was Larunih, his lifemate.

 'Awake at last,' she said, coming to the bed. 'I'm beginning to wonder if I need a new lifemate, this city job has you too tired to be any use to me.'

 'Just as long as you don't wake me up,' he replied sleepily. Larunih laughed and sat on the bed, her long slender form curling up comfortably in the nest of blankets. 

 'I've been gone a month,' Noctun said suddenly after listening to the outside world go on outside the room. Larunih looked at him. 

 'Yes you have. I was wondering when you'd notice it.' Noctun smiled and reached out with his hand, Larunih did the same and their fingers intertwined.

Screams. Fear. Chaos.

Noctun raced through his home searching for his family. Crashing into each room, certain that they'd only be around the next corner, just the next corner. Burning vegetation surrounded the house filling the place with dense acrid smoke, burning his lungs, stinging his eyes. He bumped into overturned furniture, stumbled over piles of rubble, crying with the smoke and the fear, calling out the names of his children and lifemate. Another Feree stumbled in, coughing and cursing.

 'We have to go!' the other yelled. 'The whole place is about to fall in.'

 'They're still in here!' he yelled back. 'I can't leave them.'

 'Noctun! We have to go! Now!'

 'No!' He moved off, growing desperate, hearing the other curse and join in the hunt. Next room, next corner. They're here, they're okay, they're alive. 

He heard shouting from outside the house and heard the loud hissing of extinguishing flames. The overworked fire corps had arrived at last and in moments, the inferno was reduced to ashes.

Now able to see clearly, Noctun hurried faster around the house, circling and backtracking, searching constantly.

 'Noctun,' he heard someone say and he turned. It was the Feree who had told him to leave earlier. She was standing beside a tall cupboard, looking inside. 

 'What is it?' he asked, his heart stopping. 

 'I'm sorry,' she whispered, showing him. He looked in.

 'It is believed that there is no danger from that side.'

 'Believed by who?'

The twin suns were beating down, bathing the gardens in just the right level of heat, the glorious purple sky stretching from horizon to horizon without a cloud in sight. The cries of children playing carried up from the end of the garden where a variant of Not Me was being played. It was Noctun's youngest child's birthday and half the planets children seemed to have come to join in the chaos. 

Noctun stood, sipping at his drink, watching the flock of children, an ear cocked to the conversation. His friends and colleagues had come as well of course –their own children would never have forgiven them otherwise- and once again the conversation was centred on galactic politics.

 'There are stringent quarantine laws on every port Branthe,' Jueryth replied. 

 'Would have thought you'd know that,' Noctun commented turning back to his friends with a sigh. 'Being on the Health Boards payroll and all.' The others laughed as Branthe made a face; he was in fact the Health Leader's second-in-command. 

 'Which is why I have reason to be a bit more worried about it then the rest of you it seems,' Branthe shot back when the laughter died down. 'There's already been three cases this week of people slipping past the quarantine.' Branthe raised his glass unconsciously in superstitious salute. 'Thank the Force that they weren't carrying anything, but they're only the ones we know about. It's only a matter of time.'

Jueryth nodded slowly. 'Its true,' she admitted. 'People get smugglers to bring them in, we catch most of them, but not all.' She was head of Customs for this continent and the stress of the job she loved showed in the stiffening of her twelve delicate fingers.

(A/N I've decided to make it so that the condition of a Ferees hands and fingers are an indication of that Ferees state of health)

 'The Hutts are warring again,' Tronwu shrugged, he was in the Office of Information. 'People tend to move when they do that.'

 'People are just moving around more these days,' Noctun disagreed. 'They're holidaying and migrating and finding better places to bring up families. Clearly something about Feree appeals to them.'

 'As long they bring nothing extra with them,' Branthe snorted. 'I'll welcome them with open arms.'

 'There's a first,' Sernathi said dryly, Branthe was well known for being suspicious of new things. 'But you'll forgive me if I keep a close eye on all these off-worlders pouring in, wont you?' Sernathi was one of only five Security Leaders on the planet, her sphere of responsibility being all those arriving and departing Feree and as such, her fingers were more crooked than the talons of a Coruscant hawk-bat. 'Just so I can take my pay in good conscience of course.'

 'Oh of course,' Jueryth replied, in the same tone. She and Sernathi tended to work closely together a lot of the time. 'We'd expect nothing else.'

 'Oh good.'

 Noctun exaggerated rolled his eyes at the two females, who laughed.

There was a sudden volume increase in the screaming and the company turned automatically to scan the area where their kids were playing.

 'Looks like the Gar'shi ran off with your younglings doll,' Noctun said to Tronwu, who sighed, finished his drink and loped to where his daughter was crying on the grass.

 'How's he been doing?' Noctun heard Jueryth ask Sernathi.

 'Well, considering,' Sernathi replied. Tronwu's lifemate had been killed three moon-cycles before, knocked down by a kid on a speeder bike. Noctun thought about how he would cope if Larunih or any of his children were killed and shuddered. 

Branthe caught Noctuns eye and motioned for him to join him. They wandered around the garden for some time, chatting about little and avoiding being tripped and run over by runaway pets and children. 

 'Noctun, this is unofficial you understand,' Branthe said at last, when there was noone within earshot. 'But there has been reports of a plague in the Expansion Sector.'

 'What kind of plague?'

 'An extremely virulent one. It seems to attack the cell membranes of its victims, resulting in cellular degradation and death within sixteen standard hours of infection. There's no cure.'   

 'There's more bad news,' Noctun guessed from Branthes face.

 'It only attacks certain species,' he replied quietly. 'Neimodians, Kaminoans and us, noone can figure out why but it does.' He sighed heavily  'And nearly every other species can carry it.' The two Feree walked on in silence, pondering the ramifications of this.

 'What's the Health Board doing about it?' Noctun asked after a while. 

 'Only the top tier know the whole story and we're working with Coruscant to find a cure, a prevention method, something.' The worry on Branthes face was clear and for the first time, Noctun looked to his oldest friends hands and saw them more gnarled and knotted then the branches of an ancient ch'hala tree. 'To tell anyone else would cause a panic. If we closed ports, people would wonder why.' He sighed. 

 'Why are you telling me this?' Noctun asked as they turned back towards the house. 'What can I do to help matters?'

 'Stay out of harms way,' Branthes smile was more of a grimace. 'And hope.'

Okay? Understood? To make it easier, 

First flashback; present time

Second flashback; about three months before the kids party (just to put a date on it)

Third flashback; Morning of the present day

Fourth flashback: two weeks before present day

Exactly how the virus affects its victims will be dealt with in the next chapter.

All good? Yay!

Now remember to review!


	2. cap 2

Disclaimer: Star Wars not mine, no money have I, but poor student I am.

Author: ihadanepiphany

Have had this written for a while just got time to put it up now. Its only short I know but hopefully its worth a review, even if its only of the "this is rubbish" genre. Flames will keep me warm in Irish winter.

Do try and enjoy wont you?

'What part of no entry don't you understand?' a large Togorian growled, its weapon aimed for the drivers cranium through the window. The hapless Feree started to protest but was firmly rebuffed as the other guards, two Wookies, kept a watchful eye on the rest of the street. 

Noctun barely glanced out the speeder window at the scene that was being repeated countless of times over at every spaceport on the planet. The plague that they feared had been carried onto Feree three days previously by a Bith and was passed to a native before she left the complex. After that, it was a matter of maths.

In response, the Galactic Senate had slapped a quarantine on the planet and its moons enforced by dozens of ships and fighters, no-one on or off and had ordered a planet-wide destruction of all grounded ships to ensure that no-one could punch through and spread the virus further. Preventative measures, the message had said, only until a cure was found, druids working on it, only a matter of time. Jedi were being sent to help deal with the problem, to try and ensure at least something of the Feree race and its civilization would survive long enough for the cure, just a couple more days, just a matter of time.

*Time* Noctun reflected as the speeder continued towards his office building *being the one thing we don't have* 

The virus is passed through contact, it is absorbed into the skin and travels through the blood system, duplicating countlessly as it goes, and every cell it passes gets a sample. About twelve to fourteen standard hours after infection, the virus begins by attacking the mitochondria, the part that gives the entire cell energy, and the cell begins to die. Minutes after that, the cell membrane is targeted and the cell looses integrity in much the same fashion of a starship with a ruptured hull, only the cell doesn't have repair crews, force-fields or even the most primitive of pressure hatches. After that, it takes less than a standard hour for the victim to die. 

But what worried the health officers so much was that the virus could live outside a host for up to a week and from the moment of infection until the corpse was burned to ashes, the infected Feree could pass on the plague, as well as every other non-vulnerable species there was. 

Noctun turned from the tinted glass and closed his eyes. That was the fate of his family, almost. The Feree were panicking, clamouring to get off-planet, going hysterical and, as every sentient race does when faced with its own destruction, the hysterics turned to despair and rage, cumulating in burned and destroyed buildings and monuments all over Feree. A mob had passed near his home, someone remembered that he was an Ambassador and they turned to punish his family for it. He had raced home as soon as possible, but he was too late. 

The speeder stopped and Noctun looked out to see that they were in the government building that he had worked in most of his adult life. The driver got out and held the door open for him, the same as he had done for years. But Noctun saw in him the undeniable symptoms of the early stages of the plague, as he had seen not too long ago in the mirror.

 'Go home,' Noctun told him gently. 'See your family.' The driver hesitated, then nodded and held out his gloved hand.

 'Force be with you sir,' he said as they shook hands. Noctun nodded sadly and turned away. He had no compunction with regards to shaking his hand, gloved or no, he knew that he only had a few hours left himself.

Soon after that, he stood in his ruined office, barely seeing the damage. Mobs of looters were roaming the city. Feree always had many thousands of inhabitants of species other than the native, and it seemed that they were enjoying the environment of the crippled Security Forces to the full. It was obvious that when the plague ran its course another species would become the holders of Feree. Noctun spent a few idle, depressing minutes wondering who before easing himself into the chair in front of the holo-transmitter and powering it up

It was several minutes and Noctun began to fear the worst before Branthe finally answered the other end.

 'Noctun,' he wheezed. 'Good to see you again. How are you?'

 'As good as could be expected,' Noctun answered, his voice light, not betraying the anguish of seeing his oldest and best friend in the last stage of the plague. 'And you?'

 'Oh you know, nothing the long sleep wont cure.' Noctun kept his eyes open and his face to the holo, the long sleep was an ancient euphemism for death. 'I heard about your home,' Branthe said after a moment. 'I'm sorry.' Noctun shrugged, a hopeless gesture.

 'They were dead before the fire reached them, you know how susceptible we are to smoke, painless.' Noctun stared at his hands, the six fingers on each now wrinkled and bent with the plague and grief, until he was calm again. 'Tronwu's daughter died last night.' Branthe winced and shook his head.

 'How did he take it?' 

 'Took a dive off the building.' Branthe sighed and seemed to be reading something in the space between the transmitter and receiver

 'Jueryth got caught by rioters.' Noctun had heard, the mob had converged on her home and carried her out.

 'Sernathi said,' he commented. 'Told me at the house.'

 'Sernathi got caught too.'

 'What?' Noctun had been talking to her barely a standard hour before. 'When?'

 'On the way back to the office, speeders ran into a riot, thermal detonator through the window.'

 'So that's it then,' Noctun said levelly after a few moments. 'We're the only ones left, the last of the old gang.' Branthe laughed, a stressed attempt that degraded into a coughing fit almost before it began.

'We?' he asked when he could breathe again. 'You, Noctun. I'm building my pyre as we speak.' Noctun stared at his friend, caught the flicker of movement behind him, then ran to the window and strained to see a certain building. A new plume of smoke was rising over it ad he knew that it originated in his old friends offices. He rested his head on his arms for a few moments, calming himself before turning and sitting back in front of the transmitter.

 'Branthe'anuil of the House Anuil of the Feree,' he said quietly, the ancient ritual slipping all too easily off his tongue. 'Breathe deep and sleep well.'

 'May the Force be you, Noctun'orias of the House Orias of the Feree,' Branthe whispered and then the signal was lost. He was gone. Noctun sat and stared into the empty space that had contained his best friend.

Many hours later, when the second sun had dipped past the horizon, its light retreating from the incredible destruction that had occurred in three of its cycles, Noctun returned from foraging, bumping into the furniture, stumbling back to the holo-vid recorder and transmitter. He keyed in an address, looking around the rooms that had been so familiar and were now transformed with the darkness and destruction, half-lit with the fires raging outside. The recorder beeped once, it was ready. Noctun hauled himself to his full height, the plague running rampant in his slender frame and spoke, his soft voice racked with pain and grief.

 'For the attention of the Republican Senate, from Ambassador Noctun'orias of the House Orias of the Feree.' 


End file.
